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Information For Candidates: Introducing IELTS To Test Takers
Information For Candidates: Introducing IELTS To Test Takers
for Candidates
Introducing IELTS
to test takers
www.ielts.org
Expert user
Good user
Competent user
Modest user
Limited user
Intermittent user
Non user
Test format
IELTS Academic
IELTS Academic is for test takers wishing to study at
undergraduate or postgraduate levels, and for those
seeking professional registration.
IELTS General Training
IELTS General Training is for test takers wishing to migrateto an
English-speaking country (Australia, Canada, NewZealand, UK),
and for those wishing to train or study at below degree level.
Each organisation sets its own entry requirements. In some cases
both Academic or General Training may be accepted. If you are
in doubt as to which to take, you should contact the organisation
you are applying to in order to check their requirements.
You are tested on all four language skills listening, reading,
writing and speaking, unless you have an exemption due to
a disability (see section on special requirements). Everyone
takes the same Listening and Speaking tests. There are
different Reading and Writing tests for IELTS Academic and
General Training.
The Listening, Reading and Writing tests must be completed
on the same day. The order in which these tests are taken
may vary. There are no breaks between these three tests.
The Speaking test may be taken up to seven days before
or after the other three tests.
Listening
Academic Reading
Academic Writing
Speaking
Reading
Timing
60 minutes (no extra transfer time).
Questions
There are 40 questions. A variety of question types are
used, chosen from the following: multiple choice, identifying
information (True/False/Not Given), identifying a writers
views/claims (Yes/No/Not Given), matching information,
matching headings, matching features, matching sentence
endings, sentence completion, summary completion,
note completion, table completion, flow-chart completion,
diagram label completion, short-answer questions.
Test Parts
There are 3 sections. The total text length is 2,150-2,750 words.
Academic Reading
Each section contains one long text. Texts are authentic and
are taken from books, journals, magazines and newspapers.
They have been written for a non-specialist audience and are
on academic topics of general interest. Texts are appropriate
to, and accessible to, test takers entering undergraduate or
postgraduate courses or seeking professional registration.
Texts range from the descriptive and factual to the discursive
and analytical. Texts may contain non-verbal materials such
as diagrams, graphs or illustrations. If texts contain technical
terms, then a simple glossary is provided.
Writing
Timing
60 minutes
Tasks
There are 2 tasks. You are required to write at least
150 words for Task 1 and at least 250 words for Task 2.
Test Parts
There are 2 parts.
Academic Writing
In Task 1, you are presented with a graph, table, chart or
diagram and are asked to describe, summarise or explain
the information in your own words. You may be asked to
describe and explain data, describe the stages of a process,
how something works or describe an object or event.
In Task 2, you are asked to write an essay in response
to a point of view, argument or problem.
The issues raised are of general interest to, suitable for
and easily understood by test takers entering undergraduate
or postgraduate studies or seeking professional registration.
Responses to Task 1 and Task 2 should be written
in an academic, semi-formal/neutral style.
General Training Writing
In Task 1, you are presented with a situation and are asked to
write a letter requesting information or explaining the situation.
The letter may be personal or semi-formal/neutral in style.
In Task 2, you are asked to write an essay in response to a
point of view, argument or problem. The essay can be slightly
more personal in style than the Academic Writing Task 2 essay.
Topics are of general interest.
Skills assessed
In both tasks, you are assessed on your ability to
write a response which is appropriate in terms of:
c ontent
the organisation of ideas
the accuracy and range of vocabulary and grammar.
Academic Writing
In Task 1, depending on the task type, you are assessed on your
ability to organise, present and possibly compare data; to describe
the stages of a process or procedure; to describe an object or
eventor sequence of events; to explain how something works.
In Task 2, depending on the task type, you are assessed on
your ability to present a solution to a problem; to present and
justify an opinion; to compare and contrast evidence, opinions
and implications; to evaluate and challenge ideas, evidence
or an argument.
General Training Writing
In Task 1, depending on the task type, you are assessed on your
ability to engage in personal correspondence in order to: elicit
and provide general factual information; express needs, wants,
likes and dislikes; express opinions (views, complaints etc.).
In Task 2, you are assessed on your ability to provide general
factual information; to outline a problem and present a solution;
to present and possibly justify an opinion; to evaluate and
challenge ideas, evidence or an argument.
Marking
You are assessed on your performance on each task
by certificated IELTS examiners according to the IELTS
Writing test assessment criteria (Task Achievement/Response,
Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical
Range and Accuracy). The public version of the assessment
criteria can be found at www.ielts.org/criteria.
Task 2 contributes twice as much as Task 1 to the Writing score.
Scores are reported in whole and half bands.
Speaking
Timing
11-14 minutes
Test Parts
There are 3 parts.
Part 1 Introduction and interview (4-5 minutes)
The examiner introduces him/herself and asks you to introduce
yourself and confirm your identity. The examiner asks you
general questions on familiar topics, e.g. home, family, work,
studies and interests.
Part 2 Individual long turn (3-4 minutes)
The examiner gives you a task card which asks you to talk about
a particular topic and which includes points you can cover in your
talk. You are given 1 minute to prepare your talk, and are given
a pencil and paper to make notes. You talk for 1-2 minutes on
the topic. The examiner may then ask you one or two questions
onthe same topic.
Test tips
Listening
Each recording in the Listening test is heard once only.
You will be given time to read through the questions before
you listen.
As you listen, write your answers on the question paper.
At the end of the test, you will have 10 minutes to transfer
your answers to the answer sheet. It is essential that you
transfer your answers to the answer sheet as nothing you
write on the question paper will be marked.
You must write your answers in pencil.
An example of a completed Listening answer sheet
is given on the next page.
Completion question types (e.g. note completion):
Pay attention to the word limit. For example, if you are
asked to complete a sentence using NO MORE THAN
TWO WORDS, and the correct answer is leather coat,
the answer coat made of leather would be incorrect.
Transfer only the missing word(s) to the answer sheet.
For example, if you have to complete the note in the ,
and the correct answer is morning, the answer in the morning
would be incorrect.
You will hear the word(s) you need to use in the recording.
You will not need to change the form of the word(s) you hear.
Pay attention to spelling and grammar: you will lose
marks for mistakes.
You may write your answers in lower case or in capitals.
Reading
You may write your answers directly on the answer sheet
or you may write them on the question paper and transfer
them to the answer sheet before the end of the test. You will
not be given extra time to transfer answers at the end of the
test. Nothing you write on the question paper will be marked.
You must write your answers in pencil.
An example of a completed Reading answer sheet is given
on the next page.
Completion question types (e.g. note completion):
The same rules apply to completion question types
as in Listening (see above).
The word(s) you use must be taken from the Reading text.
You will not need to change the form of the word(s) in the text.
Writing
You may write your answers in pencil or pen.
Pay attention to the number of words required for each
task. You will lose marks if you do not write at least
150 words for Task 1 and at least 250 words for Task 2.
You should spend approximately 20 minutes on Task 1
and approximately 40 minutes on Task 2.
You must write your answers in full; answers written
in note form or in bullet points will lose marks.
Pay attention to spelling, grammar and punctuation;
you will lose marks for mistakes.
You may write your answers entirely in capitals if you wish.
You may make notes on the question paper but nothing you
write on the question paper will be marked.
Test results
The Test Report Form
You will receive a Test Report Form which reports a score for
each of thefour skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking),
as well as an overall band score. Half band scores may be
awarded to indicate a strong performance within a particular
band. You can find more information on score processing
andscore interpretation at www.ielts.org/criteria.
Results are available 13 calendar days after the test. At some
test centres test takers may collect their results on the 13th day;
atothers, results are mailed on the 13th day. Test centres are
not permitted to give results over the phone or by fax or email.
You will receive
only one copy of the
Test Report Form.
Its important that
you keep it safe
as replacement
Test Report Forms
cannot be issued.
Test centres will
send copies of
your Test Report
Form to up to five
organisations free
ofcharge.
Re-taking IELTS
There are no restrictions on re-taking IELTS. You can register
for a test as soon as you feel you are ready to do so. Please
note that your score is unlikely to increase unless you make
a significant effort to improve your English before re-taking the
test. More information is available fromwww.ielts.org/resitting.
Enquiries on results
If you are unhappy with your test result, you can apply for a
re-mark (Enquiry on Results) at the centre where you took
the test. You must make the application no later than six weeks
after the test date. You can choose which test components
are re-marked. There is a fee for this service which will be
refunded if your score on any component is increased.
Enquiries on Results take six to eight weeks to complete.
IELTS for UK Visas and Immigration
Find out how you can use an IELTS result for this purpose
at www.ielts.org/uk. For more information on going to or
staying in the UK, visit www.gov.uk.
Do not write
anything in the
/ columns
If you want
to change an
answer, erase
or cross out the
original answer
and write in the
new answer
Write your
answers in
the boxes
Shade a box to
indicate which version
you are taking
Shade a box to
indicate your gender
Write your
candidate number
Enquiry
Registration
Read through all the information you receive with
the application form carefully. Complete the paper
application form or online registration and submit it
to your nearest test centre. You will need to enclose
the test fee or make the payment online.
Make sure you enter the number of your identity
document (your passport or national identity card)
and attach a clear colour photocopy or scanned
copy of youridentity document to the application
form. The identity document must be valid at the
time of registration and the same ID document
must be presented on the day of the test.
Confirmation
Test day
Results
Results will be available 13 calendar days after the
test. At some test centres test takers can collect their
results on the 13th day. At other test centres results
are mailed to test takers on the 13th day. Test centres
are not permitted to give results out over the phone
or by scan or email.
Preview of your results is available online 13 calendar
days after the test. Results will remain online for
28 days. Please note that the online preview of your
results should not be used as an official confirmation
of your performance.
Your privacy
The IELTS Test Partners recognise and support the right of genuine IELTS test candidates to privacy.
For more information visit www.ielts.org/privacy.
British Council
Bridgewater House
58 Whitworth Street
Manchester, M1 6BB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 161 957 7755
ielts@britishcouncil.org
Cambridge English
Language Assessment
1 Hills Road
Cambridge, CB1 2EU
United Kingdom
www.cambridgeenglish.org/
helpdesk
IELTS USA
825 Colorado Boulevard
Suite 221
Los Angeles, CA 90041
USA
Tel: +1 323 255 2771
ielts@ieltsusa.org
IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment. The IELTS test is designed and set by the worlds leading experts in language assessment
to give a true picture of a test takers language skills. IELTS Bands 4-9 (NQF levels Entry 3 to Level 3) are accredited by Ofqual, Englands Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation.